The pass traveled nearly 50 yards in the air. Hakeem Nicks had done what used to be routine for him, but this year has been significant when it happens: Burst past two defenders, finding himself atop the entire defense, with just the Georgia Dome turf between him and the end zone.

The fourth-year Giants receiver admits he could have dove for the ball. But he had a bigger gain in mind.

"I wanted to run into the end zone; I didn’t want to just make a catch," Nicks said, his eyes lighting up. "I wanted to score, so that’s why I tried to run out for it. Just off by a hair."

The pass wound up just beyond Nicks’ fingertips, falling incomplete, one of many missed opportunities in the Giants’ 34-0 loss to the Falcons last week — a setback that makes Sunday’s game at Baltimore essentially a must-win, to keep their playoff hopes viable. For Nicks, it was also a missed opportunity on an individual level.

Hobbled all season with right-foot and left-knee injuries, to the point that he walks around the locker room with a labored gait after each time he practices, Nicks less often looks for these big plays. In fact, despite earning a reputation as an explosive playmaker, the former first-round pick admits his approach to the game has changed this season due to his injuries.

"I tried to change my style up a little bit, to more of a possession receiver," Nicks said. "Just moving the ball and moving the chains, because I really ain’t got my explosiveness, the way I have had it in the past. That changed a little bit, me just trying to keep the ball, keep us on the field, be consistent in my routes and be there for (quarterback) Eli (Manning) when he does look my way."

It’s an interesting tactic. Nicks generally plays the "X" receiver position — though he moves around on some plays, in part a trick that can help injured players avoid the jam from defenders — the spot considered a team’s No. 1 receiver.

Possession receivers are usually players without special speed, but who are reliable, with good hands, and can be counted on to convert for first downs. They often play out of the slot, and they usually aren’t considered an offense’s top threat.

But Nicks recognized early in the season that his injuries detracted from the skill set he normally puts to use. When he fractured the fifth metatarsal in his foot in May, he figured he would be back for opening day and himself by midseason. But when he injured his knee against the Buccaneers in Week 2, Nicks saw an entirely different 2012 ahead of him.

‘NOT THE SAME PLAYER’

Nicks is reluctant to talk about injuries and has declined to reveal exactly the nature of his knee ailment, but he said when he had initial tests done in September, he knew then he would never be 100 percent this season — despite his weekly public assurances that he feels the best he’s felt all season.

As offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride has explained for many weeks, while Nicks is still a good receiver, he is "not the same player" he has been in the past for the Giants. But to Nicks’ credit, he has not only fought through the injury, he’s adjusted so that he can still be effective for the team, recording 53 catches for 692 yards and three touchdowns.

Nicks has always had excellent hands, a skill that hasn’t changed with injury and that suits a possession receiver. He’s worked to improve as a route-runner, an area that hadn’t been a strength.

Nicks and Manning have also built a stronger connection, through film study and elevated communication. Nicks has worked to improve his field vision and interpretation of the opposing defense, searching for the windows in coverage to be available for Manning.

"When you hear the concept, you’ve got to know what you’ve got, you’ve got to know the coverage, and know where the open spots are," Nicks said. "Learn how to work zone windows, learn how to read defenses a lot better to know what they are going to be doing, so I can put myself in the best situation (to be open)."

Hakeem Nicks breaks a tackle attempt by Packers free safety Morgan Burnett (42). Nicks, who has battled foot and knee injuries, has 53 catches and three touchdowns this season. But his average yards per catch is down to 13.1, compared to 15.7 in 2011.Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger

After Nicks sat out three games in late September and early October, he committed himself to this new focus, starting to feel comfortable around the Giants’ bye week. It’s not weird, "it’s football," he said simply — and he hopes that when his health and burst do return, he’ll be a better player for it.

This mental challenge was coupled with the physical burden of "nonstop" treatment on his knee, requiring him to be at team headquarters by at least 7 a.m. daily. He has a strict snap count for each period of practice on the days he is permitted to work, enforced by the trainers and coaches. Otherwise, Nicks said, "once I get in my zone, I just go."

SUBTLE CHANGES

Not everything has changed. Nicks still runs many of the same plays, even if they don’t always work with the same effectiveness — as was the case with four failed fade routes in the Packers victory.

He still tries to be physical, even if it’s now more challenging to box out opponents. His attitude is unfailingly positive — he calls this process a "learning experience" — and he proudly holds a chair on coach Tom Coughlin’s leadership council.

But there are differences in what Nicks has been able to contribute this season: He averages 13.1 yards per catch, down from 15.7 in 2011, and three touchdowns to last season’s seven.

Nicks’ 215 yards after the catch in his 11 games is a drop-off from last season’s tally of 359, and an average of nearly a yard less on each catch. Of the Giants’ 20 longest pass plays this season, Nicks accounts for just two: 40- and 50-yarders, both against Tampa Bay before the knee became a lingering issue.

"Not even noticing it, it changed a little bit, of me having to be more of the deep threat and the big-play guy from time to time," receiver Victor Cruz said, when asked if the roles in the passing game have changed. "As a whole corps, we’ve responded, and between myself, (Domenik) Hixon, Rueben (Randle), we’ve picked up his slack a little bit."

Cruz isn’t a stranger to being a big-play threat. He led the team with nine catches of 40 or more yards during the regular season last year, though some, like his 99-yard touchdown against the Jets, were shorter gains that became game-changers after the catch. In this week’s game plan against the Ravens, Cruz said, they have several calls for him to take advantage of deep opportunities.

PLAYING SMALL BALL

As a team, the Giants’ big-play numbers are down, "and there’s pretty good reasons for that," Coughlin said. It’s easy to connect the dots and see that Nicks being slowed by injuries is at least one of those reasons, whether by him less often being a deep target or by not as consistently pulling coverage to his side of the field.

With two games to go, the Giants have recorded 45 pass plays of 20 yards or more (compared to 67 last season) and eight of 40 yards or more (18 last season). Both Nicks and Cruz are delivering less yards after the catch, and Manning also appears to be taking fewer deep shots.

According to the football statistics website Pro Football Focus, about 13 percent of Manning’s passes have traveled 20 or more yards in the air. Last season, that figure was close to 18 percent.

"It doesn’t change your play-calling, but what you hope is when you have those chances, that you take advantage of them," Gilbride said. "And they’re not as frequent for whatever the reason, but we’ve had a few chances and when we’ve had them, either we haven’t run a good-enough route or we haven’t protected well on that one or there wasn’t a great throw."

The Giants’ most recent game-changing chunk play was Cruz’s 77-yard touchdown to beat the Redskins in Week 7.

As this season comes down the stretch, their history is a reminder of how such plays can be the difference in earning a playoffs bid (Cruz’s 99-yarder last Christmas Eve) or extending a Super Bowl run (Nicks had 72-yard and 66-yard touchdowns in the first two rounds of last year’s playoffs).

Nicks fondly recalls the explosiveness he once had, and he knows he’ll get back there. Just not this season. But he’s smart enough to realize how he can still make a difference, even if it’s not the difference he once made.

Just like on that deep pass play at Atlanta, despite setbacks, there is open field ahead for the Giants, who are still among the group of teams in control of their own destiny. It’s on them not to drop the ball, and Nicks has made sure he’s one of the hands on deck.

"I don’t feel like I’ve been going through this for nothing," Nicks said. "Something good is going to come out of it."